


letting her love you

by mikane_hoshizora



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Kissing, Romance, cheesy tooth rotting fluff tbh, lots of nicomaki banter, nico tries to be supportive, rin and maki are cute idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 06:06:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18733126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikane_hoshizora/pseuds/mikane_hoshizora
Summary: “She was wearing combat boots, Nico. To a five-star restaurant. I don’t know what I expected,” Maki laments.“Well, you’re the one who couldn’t straighten out your wording. But hey, at least she had fun on the date, right?”Maki cringes. “Well. I kind of… set the table on fire.”—In which Maki tries to take Rin on the best date ever, and Nico tries her best to be helpful.—aka maki’s a panicked lesbian, rin’s practically an angel, and nico’s just trying to help (and get some free food along the way). nozoeli watch from the sidelines.rinmaki established relationship, nico/maki broship





	letting her love you

“Take her to the movies,” Nico says, staring Maki down over the top of her faux designer sunglasses. “It’s a classic move. You put your arm on the back of the seat, and while she’s focused on the movie, you put your arm around her. What can I say? I’m a genius.”

 

Maki stares back, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t know if Rin would like movies. They’re not exactly the most exciting thing.” 

 

“Well then,” Nico huffs, clearly taking Maki’s words as a personal offense, “what about a horror movie? That’s gotta be exciting enough for her. You won’t even need to ask her to cuddle.” 

 

Maki frowns. “Why do you assume I want to be cuddled?” She glances furtively around the small ice cream parlor they were seated in. Sure, she’s the one asking for dating advice here, but she doesn’t want to sound _that_ desperate.  

 

Nico scoffs. “Please.”  

 

* * *

 

 

 

So Maki takes Rin to the movies. She’s never actually _been_ to a theater before—not the kind of thing her parents really approved of growing up—but she somehow manages to bribe Nico into getting her tickets for some new horror flick that’s showing (Nico, as it turns out, has no qualms about helping out when food is involved).

 

Maki isn’t exactly a horror person herself, but she figures it’s worth a shot. Not like she _wants_ Rin to bury her face in her chest and whisper, “Maki-chan, I’m so scared!” so that she can respond with a cool and dashing one-liner that’ll have her head-over-heels in no time, as Nico so eloquently suggested. But it’s not like she’s got any other ideas, and there was no way she could mess up a movie date, right?  

 

Wrong. 

 

When a zombie covered head-to-toe in blood leaps at the screen, raspy voice screeching in agony, it’s Maki who shrieks, practically leaping out of her seat, spilling her caramel popcorn and coke all over Rin’s lap. When Rin stands and tries to save her jeans from the sticky mess, Maki, instead of helping her, curls into a ball and starts sobbing. The ominous music is deafening, so Maki just squeezes her eyes shut, not wanting to see or know what’s happening to the poor blonde girl onscreen. As Rin dashes for some paper towels from the bathroom, Maki attempts to stagger after her, only managing to trip over the couple in the aisle seat, knock over their drinks, and probably ruin their evening as well.

 

They get kicked out of the cinema before the movie is even twenty minutes in.  

 

 

* * *

 

Nico laughs. “I should have known. It’s _you_ after all.” The two are seated at their usual booth in the ice cream place in Akiba. Now, as Nico digs into the sundae Maki promised her in exchange for the horror movie tickets, Maki recounts everything, carefully leaving out the fact that her major freak-out had occurred during the first jump scare of the movie. Considering Nico’s general nonchalance when it came to all things horror, Maki decides she’s got a right to try and salvage whatever she can of her dignity.

 

“Quit acting so high and mighty when _your_ ‘master plan’ just failed,” Maki jabs back, accentuating her sarcasm with air quotes. “She had to go home to change right after that, so we didn’t even get to do anything else.”  

 

With a sigh, Nico waves the ice cream spoon in front of her face and keeps talking. “Well, sorry I didn’t know you were gonna freak out so badly. You know, I’d just invite her over for a nice home-cooked meal, but knowing _you_ —”  

 

“I came here for dating advice, not back-handed insults, thanks,” Maki snaps, taking a sip of her coffee. _Black_ coffee, indeed, she was certainly no child. At least _she_ wasn’t the one currently devouring a Super Strawberry extra-nutty triple deluxe sundae larger than her face.  

 

“Okay, sorry,” Nico mutters. “Too accurate?” 

 

“Not in the _least_. Maybe you could just give me some serious ideas, since you’re _such_ a romance expert yourself, Miss Still-Single.”  

 

“Okay,” Nico responds, her eyes narrowing. “I see how it is.” She sets down her spoon. “You should take her skydiving.”   

 

“Nico!” Maki groans. She’s beginning to seriously regret this, especially now that Nico’s clearly actively rooting for her death in a tragic skydiving accident.

 

“Fine, fine, I was joking. Actually, I was being serious, but since you’re too much of a pussy to do it, we’ll just have to settle for something a bit _simpler_ , then. Like, say, buying her a Ferrari.”   

 

Maki sighs. “Seriously?”  

 

Nico shrugs. “Or a private yacht, whatever.” She paused, “You know, you could always just take her out to dinner.”  

 

* * *

 

After much discussion and Maki having purchased not only the sundae, but also an iced drink and a cheesecake for Nico, she agreed to bring Rin to an upscale French restaurant for an elegant dinner date. She had thought it would be nice that Rin would get to experience high-class dining, which the catlike girl had informed her she had never done before. Nico, on the other hand, had simply told her that the plan was perfect because Maki would hopefully get to see Rin in a revealing dress, and, after Maki had hit her on the head, had insisted that “bitches love money.”  

 

She called Rin to tell her that they were going to a French restaurant, and to wear the most expensive clothes she owned. 

 

It wasn’t like she was hoping to see Rin in a body-con dress or anything, but she certainly wasn’t expecting her to show up in full armor cosplay, complete with platform boots and plastic swords.  

 

“You said to wear the most expensive clothes I owned nya!” Rin whines as Maki rubs her temples, trying to ignore the weird looks from the other customers. “This whole thing was almost twenty thousand yen at Animate!”  

 

Maki had to admit that it was probably worth more than her own outfit, which consisted of a strapless red dress her mom had bought her years ago, which she wore under Nico’s insistence that a sexier outfit would make the process of seduction much easier. She also had to admit that she _had_ , indeed, told Rin to wear “the most expensive clothes she owned,” but she’d personally thought the ginger would have a little more common sense. It was, okay, maybe a _little_ endearing, but also ridiculous. But also somehow cute. God, she thought, pushing the sappy feelings to the back of her mind.

 

They’re finally seated after Maki at least makes Rin leave her bulky cosplay stuff in the car, leaving her in a t-shirt and jeans, which is definitely better, albeit slightly (read: very) underdressed. A waiter sets their table, pours them glasses of sparkling water and brings them menus, and Maki can practically _see_ a question mark floating over Rin’s head. 

 

“Maki-chan, I can’t read this at all,” Rin whispers.  

 

“What do you mean?”  

 

“I have no idea what any of these are,” Rin continues. “Do they have ramen?”  

 

“No, Rin, this is a French restaurant. Do you want to try the soup?” 

 

“Which one’s the soup?”  

 

Maki points it out on her own menu. Rin seems to look more and more confused with each word. After Maki finally finishes her speech, Rin stares at her blankly and says, “I’ll just get what you get.”  

 

It takes all of her self-will not to facepalm.  

 

The waiter brings them brings them their drinks and the soup for the first course. Rin spends more time _ooh_ ing and _aah_ ing at the decorations on the plate than actually eating anything, but at least she’s having a fun time, Maki thinks.  

 

Of course, _something_ has to go wrong eventually. When the entrees arrive, Rin, who’s apparently hungry from basically ignoring all the appetizers, digs in quickly.

 

Maki sighs, setting down her spoon. Suddenly, Rin begins to cough. A while passed, and she didn’t stop. “Rin? Are you alright?” Maki stutters, worry apparent in her voice.  

 

Rin wheezes a silent response, and suddenly Maki hears her father’s voice, in the hospital, drilling her on the Heimlich maneuver and how mere seconds could mean life or death for a choking victim—her hands tremble as she leaps out of her seat and dashes to the other side of the table— 

 

“Maki-chan, I’m _fine_ nya! I just choked on some water—wait, what’s that?” 

 

In her relief that she hadn’t accidentally killed her girlfriend, the redhead failed to notice anything out of the ordinary until she heard shouts. Maki started; in her haste to rush to Rin’s side, she must have knocked one of the fancy candles that were lit by the edge of the table. Before long, flames were creeping up the lacy tablecloth.  

 

A waiter ran hurriedly by, and doused the fire before it could grow larger. Smoke filled the area, and Rin coughed again. “Dammit, Maki-chan.”  

 

Maki could only attempt an awkward smile in response. 

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the most _Rin_ -ish idea,” Nico muttered, crossing her arms. “In my defense, it would’ve worked on anyone else.”  

 

“She was wearing combat boots, Nico. To a five-star restaurant. I don’t know what I expected,” Maki laments.  

 

“Well, you’re the one who couldn’t straighten out your wording. But hey, at least she had fun on the date, right?”  

 

Maki cringes. “Well. I kind of… set the table on fire.”  

 

Nico blinks. “Sorry. I think I heard you wrong.”  

 

“I said, I set the table on fire!” Maki says a little too loudly. A few other customers sitting near them turn to look, and Maki feels her face heat up. 

 

There’s a beat of silence. Then, Nico snorts, almost knocking over her soda. “Sorry, _what_? How did you fuck up _that_ badly?” 

 

“Well… Rin was eating too fast, and she looked like she was going to choke… and there was this candle…”  

 

Nico held up her palm. “Speak no more. I think I’ll die of second-hand embarrassment.”  

 

Maki is too busy drowning in said embarrassment to even bother thinking of a clever reply. 

 

Finally, Nico says, “Okay, okay, how about an amusement park? Oh, I know, I saw this thing on TV where the guy took the girl on the Ferris wheel, and he’d set up this flower garden in the shape of a heart, so she saw it from the top of the Ferris wheel! And then he proposed, and then the sun set as the last rays of light filled the compartment, and—” 

 

“I am _not_  doing that,” Maki interjects quickly, a dark blush spreading over her cheeks. 

 

“Well,” Nico shrugged. “Your loss.”  

 

* * *

 

“WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Rin screams in delight, throwing her hands up in the air. “ISN’T THIS FUN, MAKI-CHAN?” She yells, and Maki can barely hear her over the wind howling in her ears. She doesn’t respond, keeping her mouth clamped tightly shut. She’s pretty sure she’ll puke otherwise. 

 

She does, eventually, after staggering off the death coaster and making her way to the nearest garbage can. Rin follows after her, rubbing circles in her back soothingly. “Rin is sorry, nyaa. We probably shouldn’t have gone on that ride.”  

 

“No, it’s—fine—” Maki mumbles back between intermittent hacking. “I’m sorry. I ruined it again.”   

 

Rin blushes. “No, you haven’t! It’s Rin’s fault for wanting to go on that ride.”  

 

Maki straightens up. “Well, at least you had fun.” She takes Rin’s hand determinedly. “Where to next?”  

 

Rin smiles back. “Maki-chan, you don’t have to do this, you know. If you’re tired, we can—” 

 

“No!” Maki almost yells, stamping her foot as she does so, and is surprised at her sudden ferocity. “This has to go well! I messed up too many times already.”  

 

“Maki-chan…”  

 

“I’m fine! I like roller coasters. Honestly.” It wasn’t her fault she hadn’t exactly had experience with thrill rides in the past. Despite being completely unable to handle it, she actually kind of liked the ride.

 

“Okay… well, let’s get some food, nya! Unless you’re nauseous, I mean—” 

“No no! I’m kind of hungry, actually. Let’s go!” Maki set her shoulders determinedly. This would work.

 

They’re in line for hot dogs when Rin suddenly points and says, “Isn’t that Honoka-chan?” 

 

Maki turns, heart sinking. It wasn’t like she wasn’t happy to see their friend, but she, somehow selfishly, wanted the date to stay just the two of them.

 

“Honoka-chan!” Rin calls, waving. Maki groans inwardly, plastering on a smile as she heard the familiar sounds of people whispering. It probably wasn’t great to yell out the name of your idol group leader in public when trying to go on a simple and low-key date.

 

* * *

 

“The usual, please,” Nico says to the waitress, who greets them enthusiastically by name as the two enter the ice cream place. They’ve been here so often that it comes down to this, Maki thinks bitterly.  

 

“One Super Strawberry triple deluxe sundae, extra nuts, correct?” The waitress asks.

 

“Can you afford that?” Maki asks skeptically.  

 

“Can _you_ afford that?” Nico shoots back.  

 

Maki sighs. She supposes it’s the least she can offer for Nico spending her precious free time (otherwise spent watching sports anime and recordings of old school idol lives) to listen to her ramble. “Fine. Just espresso, please.”  

 

“So how’d it go?” Nico asks the second the waitress disappears. “There’s no way you messed that one up too.”  

 

“ _I_ didn’t,” Maki says defensively.  

 

“Okay, what happened?”  

 

“I don’t even… okay. We ran into Honoka and Kira-san.”  

 

Nico frowns for a second, before her eyes widen in surprise. “Tsubasa?”  

 

“Yeah.”  

 

“They were there? I mean, like, _together_?”  

 

“Yes,” Maki groans, putting her head in her hands. “On a _date_. That no one was ever supposed to know about.”  

 

“Ooohhhh.” 

 

“I was hoping they wouldn’t notice us, but Rin just started waving and yelling, and, well.” She paused. “Things escalated from there.”  

 

Nico raised an eyebrow. 

 

“They were Kira-san’s fans,” Maki continues. “And, I don’t know, they didn’t like the idea of her going out with the center from some other idol group.”  

 

“Leader,” Nico corrects her.  

 

Maki rolls her eyes. “And they were all whispering and taking pictures, like it was some kind of scandal or something. Well, it wasn’t. And even if it was, I wasn’t a part of it. I just wanted to have a proper date with Rin, damn it!” She slams her fist on the table, alarming the waitress who had just arrived with their food. “Sorry.”  

 

“You could have just left,” Nico points out.

 

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to be _rude_. And besides, the whole amusement park thing was ruined from that point anyway.” 

 

“Okay, look. I think it’s pretty clear to both of us right now that you’re a lost cause,” Nico says, plunging her spoon into the sundae. “Let it always be remembered that I tried.” 

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Maki retorts. “Come on. Come _on_. You called yourself an expert. I want my money back.” 

 

“No refunds, sorry,” Nico says around a mouthful of vanilla ice cream. “Alright, fine. Let’s give this one last shot. But I think we’re gonna have to call in reinforcements.” 

 

* * *

 

“Your check.” The waitress leaves the clipboard at the edge of the table and wanders away. 

 

Nico stares at it. Maki stares back. For several seconds, no one moves. Then, very subtly, Nico stretches out an arm and nudges the clipboard very slowly in Maki’s direction. 

 

Maki drills her gaze into Nico’s forehead, unblinking. She waits, but it’s clear that Nico wasn’t going to back down anytime soon.

 

This was ridiculous. She grabbed the checkbook off the counter. “Fine.” She glared, pulling out her credit card to pay. “But I have just one question.”  

 

“What?”  

 

“What are _they_  doing here?!” Maki yells, jabbing a finger across the table to the pair sitting beside Nico.  

 

“Why so cold, Maki-chan? One would almost think you didn’t want us here, yan~” The mischievous eyes of one Nozomi Toujou glinted back at her. Beside her, Eli smiled warmly at her.

 

“I didn’t say that!” she rounded on Nico. “Did you bring them just to embarrass me?”  

 

Nico bristled. “Well, we weren’t getting anywhere, and you kept making jabs about how I’m still—” she faltered, “— _available_...” 

 

Nozomi snickered. 

 

“Shut it! N-Nico’s fans wouldn’t be happy if anybody took Nico all for themselves, right? Right?” She sat up straight, speaking with pride. “Nico-nii belongs to everyone! So—” 

 

Maki slammed the table. “Enough.” She can already feel the migraine coming on.

 

“I’m sure Nico just thought we could help,” Eli offered kindly. 

 

Maki glared. “I’m—I’m not a charity case!” 

 

Eli looked at her as a parent would a disobedient child. Maki sighed. “Fine. What did you have in mind?” 

 

“Hmm…” Nozomi put a finger up to her chin. “How about a haunted house?” 

 

Maki glanced at Nico. “I think we already established that horror isn’t my thing.”  

 

“Ehh…” Nozomi trailed off. “How about a hiking trip?”  

 

Maki looked between them, waiting for the punchline.

 

It didn’t come. “Are you kidding me? No way!”  

 

“Why not?”  

 

Nico butted in before she could reply. “She’s too scared to go anywhere without a private jet and a team of maids, obviously.”  

 

Maki felt her cheeks turn hot. “That’s not true!”  

 

“Sure.” Nico rolled her eyes, and Maki resisted the urge to vault across the table and throttle her. 

 

“Well,” Eli began, “bringing her to an expensive restaurant didn’t work well, right? Why don’t you try something she’s more used to? You can go to the mall, or get street food—” 

 

Nozomi gasped. “You should take her to get parfaits!” she cried, clapping her hands together. 

 

Maki frowned. “Rin doesn’t like super sweet stuff.” 

 

“Well, what does she like?”  

 

“Ramen…” she trailed off, noticing Nozomi’s stare. “And other things! She likes junk food a lot, but mostly savory stuff, like chips. And she really likes warm bread. And vegetables, but not raw vegetables, but she likes cooked ones. But not certain textures, like stringy things, like eggplant? Oh, but she _does_ really like eggs, and she likes fried food a lot, and—”

 

“Sounds like you know a lot about her taste,” Eli commented. “Why don’t you just make her something?”  

 

Nico snorts. “Maki? Cooking? We’ll have to carry Rin out on a stretcher.”  

 

“Now, now, Nicocchi, have a bit more faith in our Maki-chan, won’t you?”  

 

“Yeah, excuse you. Wait, what do you mean _our_?” 

 

Eli cleared her throat, ending the brief squabble. “Well, why don’t you learn? If it’s obvious you tried really hard, I’m sure Rin would appreciate it more than anything else.”  

 

“Pssh. That’s _actually_ impossible,” Nico mutters.  

 

Maki sighs, looking down at her hands. “I just… I want things to go well for _once_.”  

 

Nico glances sideways at her, crossing her arms carefully on the table. 

 

“That’s understandable,” Eli says comfortingly. Nozomi nods in agreement. 

 

“But if it’s Rin-chan, she’ll know how hard you worked, right? I mean, trying to take her out so many times.” She smiles mysteriously. “I’m sure no matter what you do, Maki-chan, she’ll love it anyway.” 

 

“Right! It’s the thought that counts,” Eli agrees, looking softly at Nozomi. Nico stared oddly back and forth between the two of them, but said nothing.

 

“I guess, but it’d be nice if the date wasn’t, you know, a _complete disaster,_ ” Maki mutters.

 

“I still think you should make her something. She’s sure to like that no matter what,” Eli says.

 

“You should make her food!” Nozomi’s eyes glint happily. “You know what she likes, and you’re willing to work hard to make it for her. So show her that.” 

 

Maki sighs, dropping her head into her hands. “I don’t know… You guys know I’m bad at cooking.” 

 

Nico snorted. “Understatement of the _century_.” Eli shot her a look, and she carefully snapped her mouth shut.

 

“Hmm… Well, in that case,” Nozomi smirked, “Nicocchi can help you.” She glanced around their booth with a self-assured look, as if she had come up with a solution that had solved everything.

 

“What? No way!” Nico cried. 

 

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi says warningly. She raises her hands in a familiar groping pose.

 

A worried look settles on Nico’s face. She crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine. Now we should probably go. We paid like half an hour ago and they’ve been giving us the stink eye ever since.” 

 

* * *

 

“A picnic? Really?” Rin’s eyes are wide. “I’ve always wanted to do that nya! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maki-chan!” 

 

Maki looked away quickly, straightening the hem of her skirt. “Yeah, well. I’ll bring the food and everything, so you don’t have to bring anything, okay? I can come pick you up on Saturday—”

 

“Wait, wait.” Rin holds up a hand. “Are you gonna make the food?” 

 

Maki’s expression falls. Rin didn’t believe in her, did she? Of course she didn’t; who would? She’d let herself get baited into some sort of false hope, but of course Rin would be skeptical.

 

But it was only natural, she thought. Anyone who had ever tasted any of her disasters would and should be visibly worried if Maki ever wanted to cook for them.

 

Steeling herself, she sucked in a breath, then spoke. “I… yes. Nico’s gonna help me. And Nozomi and Eli.” 

 

“Ahhhh… I see nya~” Rin smiles, almost like a smirk, and Maki can’t read her expression. “Well, I’m looking forward to it!” 

 

“R-really?” A smile crept onto her features.

 

“Of course nya!” 

 

 

* * *

 

Saturday morning came much colder than Maki had anticipated. After a week of good weather, the sky was pale blue but windswept, and a few voluminous clouds loomed in the distance. As the day neared noon, Maki stood worriedly on her balcony. It wasn’t windy, thank god, but it was still kind of chilly outside. Could they really go picnicking in this weather?

 

She frowned. Who ever came up with the idea of bringing their food _outside_ and eating it there? And, while the park had perfectly good benches, plop right down on the grass? They lived in a developed civilization, with roofs over their heads, and air conditioning. Who would want to eat on the ground surrounded by dirt and insects and who knows what else?

 

Rin, that’s who. And no matter how much she’d rather stay indoors, she had to remind herself that this was for Rin. Besides, the food was already made. After a long Friday afternoon, Maki, with the third years’ help, had managed to churn out a couple Tupperware containers’ worth of edible creations. Little sandwiches, fried eggs, sausage rolls, and the like. After a few disastrous attempts, she was proud to say she’d really gotten the hang of it, even though Nico still had to hover over her shoulder whenever she used the stove.

 

There was, however, one exception. Chocolate chip cookies, which Eli had provided the recipe to. The Nishikinos’ family kitchen was well-stocked with all the necessary ingredients, so it was down to Maki’s one-man team to make the dough and bake it, insisting that she did _not_ need to be babysat. Luckily, Nozomi had reminded her of the cookies before they could burn, so they at least looked alright. Maki had refused to allow any of them to taste it. She wanted Rin to be the first to have one.

 

_“Are you sure?” Nico had asked, placing one hand on her hip. “We don’t want to have to call in a paramedic.”_

 

_“I’m sure!” Maki yelled frustratedly. “They look alright. And I got the ingredients right, well, I think—”_

 

_“Have some faith, Nicocchi. You watched her make it, didn’t you?” Nozomi entered the kitchen, Eli in tow. Nico eyed them suspiciously again, but neither her nor Maki bothered to ask what the two were doing._

 

_“Well—I wasn’t really paying attention—” At Nozomi’s frightening look, Nico quickly changed her words. “I mean, of course they’re fine! I was just a bit, uh, skeptical, heh heh… Anyway, I gotta get home!” Nico grabbed her bag and zoomed out of the kitchen._

 

_Maki rolled her eyes, staring after her. Eli’s voice broke her thoughts. “It’ll be fine. She’ll love it no matter what.”_

 

Maki jumped as her phone went off, beeping shrilly. Scrambling for it, she almost dropped it off the edge of the balcony, but managed to answer it and raise it to her ear. “Maki-chan?” It was Rin. “I just finished getting dressed. Do you want to come over now?” 

 

Maki sighed, glancing at the sky. It wasn’t like the weather was going to get any better if she just kept staring at it. “I’m heading over now. See you.” She grabbed the basket of supplies and went on her way. 

 

* * *

 

Rin looked… pretty. Really pretty. After the restaurant scenario, Maki had begun to doubt that Rin had any sense of fashion at all. But standing before her, she was… beautiful. Maki mentally kicked herself for being so sappy, but she could hardly help it. Rin looked vibrant, in a loose teal dress with a flowing skirt and a peach cardigan. Her hair was pulled back by two golden star-shaped pins, and Maki noticed that they appeared to match with her necklace. Had Rin… actually spent a lot of time picking out this outfit? Not that it should come as that much of a surprise, but, well, it _definitely_ did. Rin always looked cute on their dates, but Maki had always assumed she did so naturally.

 

They found a nice spot and spread out the colorful tarp on the grass. There were a couple other families and groups of friends out in the park, taking in the newly bloomed flowers and the midday breeze. Maki sets out dish after dish of their picnic lunch, and waits with bated breath as Rin tastes each of them.

 

“Oooh, these are really good! You know all my favorite foods!”

 

She grins, trying to hide her sigh of relief. “I’m glad. And of course I know what you like. How long have we been together?” 

 

“Still! Thank you so much!” Rin turns her attention to the last box on the picnic blanket, opening it eagerly. “Ooh, cookies! You baked these from scratch?” 

 

“Yep. It’s Eli’s recipe, but I made it. I did that one pretty much totally on my own. Oh, and we didn’t taste any of them yet, so… tread with caution?” 

 

Rin laughs, swatting her arm gently. “I’m sure they’re fine! Seriously, everything has been great so far. This has been great. You’re great, Maki-chan.” 

 

“You’re flattering me. Okay, try the cookies.” 

 

Rin nods, takes a bite, and chews thoughtfully. “Hm…” 

 

Maki tries unsuccessfully to read her expression.

 

“I think…” Rin muses, and Maki’s heart sinks. 

 

“I think they’re delicious!” 

 

“Really?” She straightens up in surprise. Try as she might, she can’t hold back her genuine astonishment. “Wait, you actually like them?” 

 

“Yeah! They’re really good! You really made these all on your own? I’m proud of you nya~” Rin reaches for another cookie, pulling the whole box into her lap. 

 

“Well… thanks.” Maki watches as Rin devours another, and another, a small smile spreading across her face. She _definitely_ looks like an idiot, but she can’t help it; she physically can’t hold back her grin right now.

 

“Mmhm! I’m really happy you made them for me. And the rest of the food. And all of this, really.” 

 

This is it, Maki thinks. This is how it’s meant to be. She doesn’t know if the cookies are actually all that good (and to be honest, she doesn’t really want to taste them and find out), but it doesn’t matter. They’re out here, they’re together, and Rin seems to be enjoying everything. It’s all she wanted.

 

She’s almost forgotten about her earlier worries about the weather by the time she feels the first raindrop hit her cheek.

 

“Oh no.” Was this really happening? Did the world hate her that much? They were supposed to spend the whole afternoon out here—but she should’ve known by now that maybe it _wasn’t_ meant to be.

 

“What’s wrong nya?” 

 

“I think it’s raining. We should probably pack up and head inside,” she says, her voice weary.

 

“Huh? Is it?” As if to answer, the heavens seemingly open up and now it’s well and truly raining, people all around pulling out brightly colored umbrellas, or otherwise ducking under their jackets and running for the cover of the nearest metro station. Rin stands, her hands over her head like it’s going to shield her from the rain, but Maki doesn’t move. She can’t move; her legs are two tree stumps, rooted into the ground that she wishes would swallow her up right now.

 

“I… I—” She clenches her fists, trying to stop her lip from quivering, but it’s hopeless. She’s never been good at hiding her emotions, despite her endless attempts to convince herself so, and all she can think about is the ruined food, and the angry fans and the burning tablecloth and the spilled popcorn, and the rain, the fucking rain, _why did it have to rain_? It’s not fair, she thinks, after all the times she tried; it’s like the universe is conspiring against her. Maybe it was meant to _not_ be, maybe she was never _able_ to do it right in the first place. Maybe she was stupid to try.

 

“Maki-chan,” Rin says, crouching down next to her.

 

“I’m sorry. I just— I really wanted—” The words won’t form in her mouth.

 

She just wanted it to _work_ ; she wanted to make Rin happy the way Rin made her happy. Seeing Rin’s smile every day, or singing with her, or laughing at bad jokes with her, it made her feel whole in a way she didn’t even know she was capable of feeling. And sure, all Rin had to do was _be_ there, spend time with her, but that’s because she’s _Rin,_ Rin whose voice lit up an entire room like sun breaking past clouds. Rin makes her happy just by being Rin, but Maki, with her goddamned insecurities, can’t just do something like that. She’s awkward, and distant sometimes, and not good at this relationship thing, and she doesn’t deserve what she has, but hell if she won’t move heaven and earth to prove that she can do for Rin what Rin does for her. Make her feel whole.

 

“I really admire that about you, Maki-chan.”  

 

“What?”  

 

“You never give up. You’re determined. And you do everything you can for the things you care about…” Rin looks down, placing her hand on top of Maki’s. “After all, Rin hasn’t done anything for you this whole time, right?”  

 

“What? No! You’re great! I mean, oh god,” Maki sputters as her face goes bright red. “I mean, it’s the least I can do. You do stuff for me every day. You bring me drinks and tell me not to work too hard; you always text me good morning and good night, even when I forget to check my phone; you’re always willing to give feedback on my music, even when you’re busy; you hold my hand even when people stare; you—you always remind me that you’re thinking of me. You don’t have to do anything special because— because you’re already the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”  

 

Rin blinks, apparently stunned into silence. 

 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry. I’m rambling. I—” 

 

Rin’s lip quivers. “M-m- _Maki-chan_!” She practically leaps onto the taller girl, causing her to yelp. Rin looks like she’s about to cry, like Maki in all her clumsiness and awkwardness had somehow managed to honestly say something really, really sweet. “No, you’re the best! You’re the best thing I could ever have! And you did all this for Rin and Rin is so thankful for all of this but you know, Maki-chan, you know, you don’t have to push yourself like this. I love you when you’re just being you, Maki-chan, I love you, always, always. You’re the best thing. You are.”

 

Maki’s blush deepens, if even possible. “Riiiiiiin, stop it! That’s embarrassing! Get off me—” 

 

Rin leans forward, clearly ignoring Maki’s protests. “I know! I just want to thank you for everything—” 

Maki starts to say something, but gets cut off when Rin pulls towards her, pressing their lips together. 

 

It’s not what Maki imagined her first kiss would be. They’re fumbling, and grossly awkward; their lips separate, then meet again. Maki is squirming, not sure if she should close her eyes, but she does. The rain soaks through her shirt, her hair, dribbling down her face, and Maki thinks again of how unfair it all is, and then of how wonderful it is—really—to kiss in the rain, the pitter-patter noise drowning out everyone and everything else in the world. It’s dumb and it’s cliche and it’s sappy and it’s oh so _wrong_ , but she’s gone through enough relationship catastrophes to take what miracles she can get. It feels right, she thinks, it feels like finally mastering that really hard song, her fingers finding their way across every right key at the right time because she knows exactly how many times she’s tried and failed before. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to preserve this moment, this feeling, the sound and the scent and the touch and the _experience_ of it all, all of her doubts and fears and anxieties and _Rin_ , who’s still there, somehow, always there, through all of it—her scent, of fields and cut grass, of the earth baking in mid-afternoon sun, of dandelions in the breeze; her lips, her embrace, her warmth. It’s all wrong, but it’s their kind of wrong, so it has to be right—with Rin, she knows it’s right. It has to be.

 

She doesn’t open her eyes until Rin finally pulls away. Rin is grinning, her eyes alight with something Maki can’t quite comprehend. Maki thinks about how utterly crazy this is—they should be seeking shelter or something—but she can’t bring herself to move.  

 

“How was that?” Rin breathes. 

 

“Huh? It—It was… nice.” Maki blushes. “Should we have done that? I don’t want you to catch a cold.”  

 

“I’ll be fine nya!” Rin gets up, then gasps. “Maki-chan! All the stuff you prepared—” 

 

“It’s alright. It probably wasn’t that good anyway.” Not that she wasn’t bitter that the rain had ruined her outing, but it hadn’t stopped them from having a good time with each other. Happiness settled over her like a light blanket. Had she finally done it right?

 

“If you say so…” Rin pouts. “It’s okay! Rin will make this up to you!”  

 

“Huh?” Oh god, she’s blushing again. “You don’t have to—” 

 

Rin laughs. “Come on, let’s get inside.” She reaches out her hand to take Maki’s wrist, and in a moment of mind-numbing courageousness, Maki grabs Rin’s hand and quickly intertwines their fingers.  

 

Rin’s head jerks up, speechless at Maki’s sudden initiation of affection. Maki looks away quickly. “It’s not like—” 

 

Rin laughs again, the tinkling sound resonating somewhere warm in her chest. “I love you, Maki-chan.”  

 

“…I love you too.”  

 

She smiles softly, locking Rin’s fingers in hers.  

 

Maybe this is okay too.  

 

* * *

 

The day dims outside Maki’s window as the sliver of sunlight cast through the curtains shrinks into a crescent of lamplight that falls across Rin's face. She and Rin are spooning on the couch (finally the cuddling she _deserves_ ), neither of them bothering to get up when the anime episode they were watching finished. She feels her every breath in the peace of her darkening room, and thinks longingly of letting this moment last forever.

 

“Rin?” she whispers, her voice lingering in the still air.

 

Rin shuffles a little, turning to face her. “Yeah?” 

 

“…were the cookies actually that good?” 

 

Rin hums, dropping her face into Maki’s shoulder. “Well, they were okay.”

 

“Just okay?” 

 

“Well.” 

 

Maki laughs. “You can tell me. I’m not gonna be upset.” 

 

Rin laughs, too, her breath ghosting over Maki’s neck. “They weren’t absolutely inedible, if that’s what you’re afraid of.” 

 

“I’m not afraid of anything. Just tell me what you really thought.” 

 

“I thought they were great. I really tasted the hard work and love you put into them.” 

 

“Oh yeah?” Maki recognizes that tone. She tickles Rin’s sides lightly. “What else did you taste?” 

 

“Well… I think that might have been salt.” 

 

Maki blanches. “God. I’m so sorry. You didn’t have to eat them.” 

 

Rin shrugs. “You’re right. I probably didn’t have to. But I wasn’t lying. I liked eating them because you made them for me and it made me happy. Anyway, it doesn’t matter that you didn’t put any sugar. Your smile was the sweetest thing I had all day.” 

**Author's Note:**

> idk, the thought of rinmaki doing all that to make each other happy is too much for my weak gay heart
> 
> before you say anything yeah i wrote this 3 years ago so it is pretty old but i decided i might as well post it! thanks for reading!!


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